PIL filed against construction activity at Sri Parthasarathi Swami Temple, Triplicane

There are famous Temples and people flock to Temples for darshan of Lord and have inner peace.  Sriman Narayanan is our Saviour, the only God who can provide moksha and uplift our souls.  It is important to nourish and take care of souls – most of us only end up in providing material benefits to the body, not taking care of the soul.  

Of the puranic temples, those sung by Azhwars are of great significance – those Temples finding a mention in ‘Sri Naalayira Divya Prabandham’ [collection of hymns sung by Alwars] are known as Divyadesams.  There are 108 of them in Sri Vaishnava Sampradhayam.   Of the few divyadesams in Thondai Nadu, Thiruvallikkeni is famous divyadesam situated in the heart of the city of Chennai.  The antiquity of the temple is understood by the style of architecture as also the culverts dating back to Pallava kingdom.  This temple has been sung by [mangalasaasanam in Vaishnava paribashai] three Azhwars – Sri Peyalwar, Thirumazhisai Alwar and Thirumangai alwar.

Sri Parthasarathi Swami temple, as the name denotes is dedicated to Lord Krishna.  Parthan is Arjunan and Sarathi meaning charioteer is Lord Krishna – drawing reference to Lord Krishna’s role in Mahabaratha War, where he vowed not to take arms but assist Arjuna as his charioteer.   The Temple has Sannadhis for Lord VEnkata Krishnan [Moolavar] along with his family of Balaramar, Sathyaki, Prathyumnan and Anirudhan, with Rukmini thayar on His right side.  The Uthsavar is Sri Parthasarathi who has the scars of arrows taken in the War of Mahabaratha.  His consort is Andal.  There are separate sannadhis for Lord Ranganatha and Vedavalli Thayar; Sree Ramar; Gajendra Varadar; Yoga Narasimhar with Uthsavar known as Thelliya Singar @ Azhagiya Singar.  

The Temple has two dwajasthambams [flag posts] and annually two Brahmothsavams – one for Sri Parthasarathi and other for Azhagiya Singar takes place.  The temple pond is known ‘Kairavini Pushkarini’ – a Lotus pond, where once there were lot of lily flowers.   The temple subscribes to Vaikhanasa agama and follows Thenkalai [Thennacharya Sampradhaya] tradition.

The temple is under the control of HR&CE Department and in the recent past there have been protests / agitations over the construction of sheds in the prakaram inside the Temple nearer Vedavalli Thayar sannadhi and before Varadharajar sannadhi.  Any Temple needs to be maintained with periodical repairs and renovations…….. but that should not constrain and restrict the way Bakthars and believers have darshan nor impede with the time-followed rituals and agamas.  The vast prakara which provides good quality air and light is what appeals most in Temples and presently this is what has become the ‘contentious issue’.

The authorities have placed black granite in the inner prakaram over the black stone, which has become to be more of a hindrance with devotees finding it too hot to step on and too slippery when it rains.  About a couple of months back, the authorities started erecting structures intending to cover the place fully, which will prevent devotees from having darshan of the Sacred Vimana.  Presently only the side between ‘Thirumadaipalli’ and Sri Varadharajar Sannathi is open as the other side before Sri Andal Sanathi was closed decades ago.  

There have been protests and signature campaign.  A group of devotees have obtained signatures from more than 5000 individuals and have presented them to the Authorities, which has not provided any reaction.  Now there are reports that a PIL has been filed before the High Court of Madras seeking to declare the Sri Parthasarathy Temple at Triplicane an ancient monument and to preserve its antiquity as per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act,1958.

The  case came up before Justice Paul Vasanthakumar - it was the PIL jointly filed by five devotees of the temple came up,has ordered notices to the state and central government.  The PIL claims that the authorities of the temple, now under the administration of the state government, never maintained a register containing particulars such as origin, history of the temple, expenditure, jewels, endowments, documents and title deeds though they were to be verified on regular basis. Charging the temple authorities with refusing to part with information on various aspects such as income from the temple properties it said that in June this year the administration had undertaken works to cover the sanctum sanctorum and pradakshina course with a permanent shelter, obstructing the view of the Gopuram and vimanam.

Also,the coarse stone flooring in the prakaram and pradakshina had been removed and replaced with polished granite flooring. These two works had attracted criticism from devotees,the PIL said,adding that declaring the temple as an ancient monument alone could safeguard its antiquity.  The PIL wanted the court to restrain the temple management from proceeding with the project of covering the prakara and pradakshina with full or part permanent or semi-permanent structures.

The petition states that the temple authorities had undertaken works to cover the ‘Prakaram’ and ‘Pradakshina’ course (circumambulatory passage) with a permanent shelter obstructing the darshan of the temple ‘gopuram’ and ‘vimanam’, which were a prescribed worship followed by the devotees from time immemorial.

The devotees pray that such woes are cleared out amicably and that devotees can have peaceful darshan of their Lord

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.